Introduction
 Cancellation of Contracts Made in a Consumer's Home or Place of Work ( 89kb)
Citizens Advice is pleased to have this opportunity to comment on the proposed regulations for doorstep selling. This is an issue we have worked on together with Age Concern England, following their 2002 report ‘Sharp Selling Practice’1. In 2002 we raised problems in this market with OFT, as a super-complaint, using CAB evidence reports ‘Door to Door’2 and ‘The Fuel Picture’3. We have continuously lobbied for changes to doorstep selling legislation since 2002 and have been active members of the stakeholder group throughout the various consultations and discussions. We are pleased to see this legislative change finally coming to fruition, in October 2008.
The Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) network is the largest independent network of free advice centres in Europe, providing advice from over 3,200 outlets throughout Wales, England and Northern Ireland. We provide advice from a range of outlets, including GPs’ surgeries, hospitals, community centres, county courts and magistrates courts, and mobile services both in rural areas and to serve particular dispersed groups.
The Citizens Advice service provides free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities. It values diversity, promotes equality and challenges discrimination.
The service aims:
- To provide the advice people need for the problems they face; and
- To improve the policies and practices that affect people’s lives.
In 2006-2007 the CAB service dealt with 5.7 million enquiries in total. Of these 145,258 concerned consumer goods and services and a further 88,021 concerned utilities. Doorstep sales are common across both these types of enquiry.
General comments
New regulations for doorstep selling are most welcome, in particular the extension of cancellation rights to solicited doorstep sales. The proposed new Regulations will, we believe, reduce consumer detriment. However, we are deeply concerned about that the new legislation potentially allows consumers to effectively sign away their cancellation rights by agreeing contracts to go ahead immediately. We believe that doorstep selling legislation remains a necessary and important piece of consumer protection.
To ensure the success of doorstep selling legislation tackles the main problems in the marketplace, the following protections are essential:
- cancellation rights across solicited and unsolicited doorstep sales in place in October 2008;
- a cooling off period of sufficient length to allow consumers to reconsider the agreement. We believe this should be 14 days
- accessible and prominent information about and access to cancellation rights;
- extended cancellation periods where consumers have not been given cancellation notices, so that cooling off starts with the date the notice is received;
- linkage with other relevant consumer protection, such as credit sold with a linked product during a doorstep sale and timeshare-like products sold during an excursion;
- protection from relevant pressure sales made away from business premises, where the trader has arranged an excursion, in a consumers’ home or at that consumer’s place of work. The cancellation rights in these situations represent important redress upon which consumers rely, since it is not provided elsewhere, such as a direct result of unfair commercial practices; and
- sanctions where traders fail to provide cancellation notices. We believe that this acts both to support consumers’ access to redress and to provide fair competition for business.
CAB evidence
The following cases are taken from recent CAB evidence. They illustrate some of the range of doorstep sales about which our clients are seeking advice.
A CAB in West Yorkshire commented on the need for enforcement of the code of practice for face-to-face marketing in the energy sector when a 73 year old client sought advice on cancelling a doorstep sale to change fuel supplier. She had felt pressured into agreeing and felt distressed at having been persuaded.
Elderly West Yorkshire clients faced weeks of problems trying to switch back to their original fuel supplier following a doorstep sale they wished to cancel. They live in sheltered accommodation but found that neither the face-to-face code nor the erroneous transfer charter had protected them. They ended up paying both companies’ bills, being threatened with court action, being told they had then that they had not been transferred back to the original suppliers. The bureau suggested doorstep sales by utilities companies should be stopped.
A vulnerable disabled CAB client from Derbyshire was told by two fuel sales women that if he switched suppliers he could clear her fuel debts at £3 per week. He only let them in because they said they worked closely with the CAB. The mobile number they left with him did not exist. The bureau commented that this fuel company seemed to be targeting vulnerable consumers.
A London CAB reported the case of a client who had been sold a mobile phone contract at the door, on the basis that she would receive a cash back deal that made it affordable. Four weeks later she had a letter saying the salesman had misinformed her about the cash back deal. They agreed to cancel the contract for the phone but her contract with the air time provider had not been cancelled. They were sending bills and using a collection agent to collect the money they claimed was now owed.
A 78 year old Northumberland CAB client living alone faced a three hour sales visit and was persuaded to purchase a £2,990 orthopaedic bed on a credit agreement that raised the cost to £3,735. He had agreed to the bed being demonstrated when the salesman rang to say he had won an orthopaedic pillow but had to allow the visit to claim the prize. He later found a similar bed for under £1,000.
A West Midlands CAB client sought advice following a doorstep sale lasting four hours. They had paid £3,400 for a coating to be applied to their house and only found the cancellation rights in the small print of the contract. No mention was made of this right by the salesman.
Persistent phone calls eventually persuaded a CAB client from Greater Manchester living on a pension to allow a double glazing salesman to visit. He was promised a no obligation quote valid for 12 months. He was persuaded to sign a credit agreement for double glazing he could not afford and to pay a £70 deposit.
A Staffordshire CAB client regretted the purchase of £2,000 of double glazing as soon as the salesman left her home. She found that he had covered over part of the contract that contradicted what he told her, using a piece of paper. She told the CAB that she felt worried that as a level headed person she was so easily persuaded to sign. The bureau called for cancellation rights to extend beyond seven days in such cases.
A CAB in Merseyside sought advice following the doorstep sale of a right to buy product. Her hours and wages were reduced so she tried to cancel but was told she was out of time. She had received a letter dated some two to three weeks earlier claiming she owed £1,750 for a loan she had no knowledge of.
Lincolnshire CAB clients on benefits responded to an advertisement in the local paper for wills to be drawn up for £23.50. The rep came to their house but charged them £705 which the clients felt pressured into paying. Part of the money was for storage but the wills had never been collected from the clients. Local firms of solicitors quoted between £175 and £250 at most for the same service. The clients felt they had been ‘taken for a ride’ and had lost money they could ill afford.
An elderly Hampshire CAB client living on her own on was cold called by a roofing business offering to remove moss for £1,200. When they returned she had had second thoughts. They were very pushy and brought the price down to £650. The client still refused but was very flustered.
It is clear that doorstep selling regulation will need to cover as wide a range of sales as possible; that consumers are suffering considerable detriment as a result of poor sales practices; that awareness about cancellation rights is often poor and that self-regulation, such as that available for utilities, can not be regarded as a satisfactory alternative.
Social Policy contact: Susan Marks Susan Marks
1. Sharp Selling Practice – March 2002 Age Concern
2. Door to Door – CAB clients’ experience of doorstep selling. September 2002 Citizens Advice
3. Fuel Picture –CAB clients’ experience of dealing with fuel suppliers. June 2002 Citizens Advice
Cancellation of Contracts Made in a Consumer's Home or Place of Work ( 89kb)
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